Concerned kids could help mend sick river

An environmentalist who watched United States pupils save their polluted waterway thinks Manawatu people could save their sick river too.

When Kevin White flew into Palmerston North yesterday, to present his film A Simple Question at the Reel Earth film festival, he noticed the area was flat, with dairy farms. It is the same landscape that nearly led to the extinction of the california freshwater shrimp in a waterway near San Francisco.

In 1992 a pupil asked his teacher what he could do to save endangered species. The teacher decided the class could do something. Partnering with farmers, scientists, government agencies, and schools, the class was able to restore 32 kilometres of habitat for the endangered species.

The students went to farmers and asked if they could help fence off some of their land and plant willow trees to create a corridor, protecting the water from farm runoff, Mr White said. "It's about educating about the environment. The school now has environmental studies in the curriculum."

New Zealand should pay attention to the bad job the US had done of looking after a lot of its environment, Mr White said.

"What kinds of opportunities are we giving our kids? They are going to be our future environmental stewards."

As a fisherman looking at Manawatu River, he did not think it looked a healthy environment for species to live in.

"I'm not a scientist but I know from fishing that you turn rocks over in the river and if you see a whole lot of bugs then you know it's a healthy ecosystem."

There were no bugs under the rocks Mr White turned over in the Manawatu River yesterday.

He was impressed with the steps that came right down to the water's edge though.

"People will not care about the water unless they can connect with it."

He said it was not too late to turn the health of the Manawatu River around.

"There's always a way if all the stakeholders say we are all going to be open to new ideas.

"You can easily find the labour to plant the trees or build the fences – kids in the region would love to get involved, I'm sure."

- © Fairfax NZ News